jim lehrer can stay out of it. there could be a lot of interaction there. >> eliot: debates are at their best when they come closest to what is cross-examination in a courtroom. i speaks a lawyer, prosecutor, i suppose. but i have enormous respect for that capacity of an advocate who disagrees with a proposition to ask the hard questions and elicit the truth. i think -- mitt romney must be worried about that. if jim lehrer decides to drill down on what by mitt romney's own characterization is an etch-a-sketch campaign, they could breed significant problems for him. >> it is not an easy job moderating debates under that format. interesting to see. they could talk about immigration because of the border agent shot today. there are a lot of different things that both candidates have to prepare for. >> eliot: one thing i would say is these are two unbelievably smart individuals. as you said, they both know the substantive areas they will be discussing. i think emotion will be more important than the substantive content